Maybe Someday
by Suzumi's Wings
Summary: Oneshot, set before the events of the play. Cassius has always had a tendency to give in to what Brutus wants, even when they were children.


(A/N: Yet another one, folks. XD And I actually did a little bit of research for this one! I found out that Cassius and Brutus had the same teacher, Staberius Eros, but there weren't any details about it, so I've taken liberties, I guess. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Not mine. Like I've said, they were first themselves, and then Shakespeare crafted them into characters. I'm just playing in Shakespeare's sandbox.)

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"C'mon, Cassius, you promised me last week!" Brutus ran to catch up with him as he walked down the corridor in the quickly-darkening evening. He successfully latched onto Cassius's tunic after a few rushed strides. "You promised!"

Cassius slowed his pace slightly so that Brutus would have an easier time keeping up. "I didn't _promise_ anything. I just said I would go."

"That's practically the same thing!" Brutus let go of his tunic and fell into step beside Cassius.

"No, not really. And besides, people don't always keep their promises or mean what they say. You should know that." There was a gentle note of reproach in Cassius's voice, even as he ruffled the 11-year-old's hair.

"But _you_ do, don't you?"

Brutus beamed up at Cassius with such an earnestly hopeful expression that Cassius couldn't bring himself to say what he'd wanted. He sighed. "Yes, I suppose I do." _As long as it's to you_, he added mentally.

Brutus grinned. "So you'll come with me?"

Cassius suppressed a groan. He really should have seen that coming. "All right, all right. If it makes that much difference, I'll go with you," he relented.

"It does, thanks, Cassius!" He nodded cheerfully. "Let's go now, no one's going to miss us if we leave now."

"They will in the morning," Cassius muttered under his breath, too quietly for Brutus to hear.

Brutus latched onto his arm and dragged him towards the entrance to the school. "Well, maybe Staberius Eros would, but I told him already and he promised to keep it a secret. I want to walk--"

"You _told_ Eros?" Cassius very much wanted to smack his forehead. "Brutus, the whole point of _sneaking_ out is to not get caught."

"I know, but that's not caught, though," Brutus protested.

"Yes, it is." Cassius rolled his eyes.

"Is not!! And anyway," Brutus continued hurriedly before Cassius could say anything, "I only told him because he'll get worried otherwise. And he wouldn't tell on us, he told me so. He just said to make sure we're back in the morning and he trusts you to take care of me."

Cassius laughed and ruffled Brutus's hair. "All right, fine. But just so you know, you're lucky, incredibly lucky, that I agreed to come with you, then."

Brutus grinned. "I know. I want to walk pretty far out in the field before we stop. The sun's set already so we don't have a lot of time, but also that means we don't have to wait long before the stars come out," he said brightly.

Cassius found a faint smile playing around his lips at Brutus's excitement. Though Brutus was only five years younger than he was, he couldn't remember ever being so excited just to go out to see the stars. Then again, there was the added factor of breaking rules, leaving the school, and spending the night outside...

"Walk faster, come on, we'll _never_ make it as far as I want if you keep up this pace!"

Cassius laughed. "Sorry, Brutus." He turned around to check their progress and realized that they had already walked quite a distance from the school. "Hey, isn't this far enough?"

"Nope, not yet, we need to go _much_ further." Brutus nodded for emphasis, still half-walking, half-skipping.

"Do keep in mind we need to get back to the school in the morning, though," Cassius reminded him. "Without anyone realizing we were gone."

Brutus ran a few more steps before stopping and turning to face Cassius. "Okay, then, here!"

He promptly lay down and stretched out onto the ground, staring up at the sky. The moon shone brightly overhead. The stars weren't quite visible yet, however; only the brightest of them shone in the dark sky. He shivered and rubbed his hands against his arms. So maybe it was a little cold.

Cassius sat down beside him with a grin. "Cold?"

Brutus bit his lip and nodded. "A little."

"Me too, wish I'd brought my toga or something." He lay down slowly, fingers brushing lightly against Brutus's. The grass was cold and slightly damp-- he knew he'd be feeling it through his tunic in a few minutes.

Brutus laced his fingers through Cassius's and snuggled up against his side. "It's warmer this way."

"Mm." Cassius nodded, tucking his free hand behind his head. "Sure you want to stay out all night? We can always go back if you want."

Brutus rolled his eyes, knowing Cassius couldn't see. "Ye-es. I _said_ all night last week, didn't I?"

Cassius gave his hand a slight squeeze in response. And for a long time, the only sound was the wind rustling through the trees. The night only seemed to grow colder as the sky darkened and more stars became visible, and Brutus was glad for Cassius's presence at his side. Lying out here on the grass, it seemed like the world stretched on forever, and the sky was impossibly far away.

"Do you..." Brutus began softly, hesitantly. "Do you ever wonder why the stars can affect your destiny? Why the position of the stars on the night you're born can determine what happens to you? Why it looks like the stars are so distant, and yet you don't even know the full extent to which they affect you?"

Cassius tilted his head slightly to look at Brutus, but Brutus continued to stare up at the sky. "I suppose I have," Cassius said at last, exhaling slowly. "But I haven't really... I don't really believe it, you know."

At this, Brutus rolled over onto his side to look at Cassius, eyes wide and solemn.

"That's... I don't believe that everything's decided for you when you're born," Cassius clarified. "Maybe some things are, but I don't want to-- I _don't_ believe that your entire life is already mapped out when you're born. I mean, think about it. You get choices, you get to choose what to do. Like for example--" Cassius grinned-- "you chose to come out here tonight. And I chose to come with you. And then your choices determine your actions, which in turn have consequences, from which you might base your future choices. But the point is, it's your own choice, so really, you're the one who plots out your life."

Brutus nodded. "That makes sense. But what if that's already determined too? The choices you make, that is." His eyelids fluttered sleepily and he tightened his grip on Cassius's hand.

Cassius shrugged as well as he could while lying down. "I think people have the ability to choose things by themselves. A lot of times, there's probably something influencing their choice, but all the same, it's still _their_ choice. Maybe someday we'll find out how it really works."

"Maybe someday," Brutus repeated in a sleepy slur, trying-- and failing-- to stifle a yawn.

"Maybe someday when a certain young scholar has had his rest, hm?" Cassius teased.

Brutus only nodded, already halfway claimed by sleep. Cassius smiled faintly and settled in for a long night, closing his eyes and hoping he'd wake up in time in the morning.

"If we freeze out here, I'm blaming you," he murmured jokingly, even as the soft night wind played with their hair.


End file.
